Israel’s leadership failed at every level, resulting in the lossof the nation, the city and the Temple – thus the only hope for God’s people isin the better leader, Jesus, who succeeds at every level and prospers the nation.

Due to technical difficulties, 9 minutes of the sermon were not recorded, beginning at the 24:42 minute mark. The complete text of this section is below.

II. From Micah to Christ

A. He came as the better ruler (indeed, King of kings!)

Israel’s rulers were the complete opposite of men who love their brothers. They were predatory cannibals! But Jesus turns that upside down. Because Jesus taught us that he came into this world, not to feed on the people of God, but to feed them! And what is more, he feeds himself to us! John 6:48-51 “48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”” Jesus is no cannibal of God’s people. He made himself the food of our souls as he died on the cross for our sins!

--- Unlike Israel’s heads & rulers, Jesus actually brings justice to the people of God at the cross. Romans 3 tells us that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a cosmic display of God’s justice. There God meted out the punishment rightly due to his people, and Jesus satisfied the demands of justice for us fully in that act. Our sins were punished, and we were justified by the imputation of his righteousness. And what is more, we were made able by Christ to begin to practice God’s justice ourselves…to be covenant keepers ourselves, in his power, following his lead.

--- The rulers of Israel were told that God would not hear their cry for justice when their day of doom fell upon them. But it was not so with Jesus our Lord. He lived justly before God, and when he went down into the grave, he cried out to God for vindication, and he was heard! Our pious king was heard, and God raised him up in power. Hear his prayer: Psalm 130:1-2 “1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! 2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!”Thus he prayed, and God answered him in power through the resurrection!

So you see, Jesus came as the better head & ruler: one who loves justice.

B. He came as the better Prophet cf. 3:8

1. Jesus spoke the final Word from God

Hebrews 1:1-2 “1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

2. Jesus came in the Spirit and power

Matthew 3:16-17 tells us that at his baptism, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus, and the Father spoke from heaven to confirm that this was his beloved son in whom He was well-pleased. And Jesus’ preached in a way that demonstrated the Holy Spirit and brought life.

Jn 6:63 “63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

Jesus preached words of life, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Like the prophet here, and unlike the faithless prophets, he was willing to call out sin. John 7:7 “7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.”

3. He spoke of sin, righteousness & judgment (John 7:7; 16:8-11)

When Jesus was promising to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples after his ascension to heaven, he confirmed the nature of these Spirit empowered words. John 16:8-11 “8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

His point was that the Spirit would come and continue to say through his disciples what Jesus himself had always said by the Spirit. He convicted of sin, he showed righteousness, and he preached of judgment.

C. He came as the better Priest & Temple

Unlike the priests of Micah’s day, Jesus came to do the will of God. Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was a faithful high priest & He made himself the sacrifice! Hebrews 9:11-12 “11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

Far from bringing about the destruction of the Temple in judgment, Jesus brings about the restoration of the Temple in his own body. He is the better Temple!

--- John 2:18-22 “18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

--- Revelation 21:22 “22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”

Jesus causes Jerusalem finally to come to glory (he reverses her doom)

--- Revelation 21:1-4 “1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””

Jesus Christ reverses this curse of doom for Jerusalem in Micah 3, levied on account of her leaders and their sin. Through his saving work, his death & resurrection, Jesus brings to his people this new Jerusalem, which is nothing less than the Bride of Christ, a great company of redeemed people that no man can count, made beautiful in holiness, to be his own prized possession.

III. Applications for all under Christ’s leadership

A. Come under Christ’s headship by faith alone

When a person hears how Jesus Christ is the faithful leader who not only DOESN’T lead them to ruin, but instead leads them to the greatest experience of blessing the world has ever seen…the first thing a person needs to do is to come under the headship of Jesus Christ.

If you are outside of Christ today, I appeal to you to come to Christ.

If you do not know Jesus Christ, you are in the exactly the same horrible place as was Jerusalem in the days of Micah. You are looking at the very same judgment of doom. Understand that the leaders are singled out here, because of their influence and responsibility toward the people. But all of the people are just as much to blame for their own sin. And so are you. You cannot blame your sin on anybody else.

We live in a world that tries to persuade you that all the bad things are somebody else’s fault, and you are the victim of other peoples’ sins. The world never mentions to you that you perpetrate horrible sins of your own. Maybe you don’t literally tear the skin off their bodies or that sort of thing, but you are selfish and you are always grabbing what you want and you don’t listen to God, either. If you were listening to God you would hear that your own sins are going to be visited upon you. The punishment will fit the crime.

As we have said each week, listening to the prophet Micah, you are a covenant breaker. You break God’s law. Indeed, because of the way the Law of God hangs together, it turns out that whenever you break one commandment, you break all the others, too. You just don’t love God. And you just don’t love your neighbor.

Here is the funny thing about that: I don’t have to work hard at all as a preacher to get you to see how big of a sinner all these other people around you are. Like I said, the world is happy to point out other peoples’ sins.

It is plain as day to you how THAT GUY is such a sinner. But it is not obvious to you at all that you are the biggest sinner you know. If only you would be honest with yourself, my dear unbelieving friend. Can you not slow down, look in the mirror and just see how you fall very far short of the glory of God? Name one thing about you that is truly commendable to God. Name one way that you please God. Name one instance where you have given to God the thanks and honor he is due as your Maker. You can’t do it.

And deep in your heart, suppressed down in there somewhere, you know that this is true. You know there is a God to whom you owe allegiance and honor and obedience, and you know that you don’t give it to him.

I am calling on you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to repent and believe the Gospel. Admit your sins. Confess to Jesus. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for cleansing from sin. That is the offer of the gospel today. Today Jesus calls sinners just like you to come to him by faith alone, And he will receive you to himself. He will be your king. He will be your Savior. And you will be spared from the wrath to come, and you will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. You will be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

This tent is filled with people exactly like you, sinners who by the grace of God have come to Jesus and been saved. The playing field is level here. We are all the same. The only hope for you as a sinner is to come to Christ and be saved. Will you come to Christ?

B. Learn sacrifice (not cannibalism) from Christ

Micah’s grotesque description of the leaders who act like cannibals makes for a perfect contrast to the way of Christ (that is deliberate). We already said that Jesus, far from feasting on the helpless, has made himself the feast for sinners. He made himself a sacrifice for his brothers. And his way is to be learned as your way. Follow his lead in his power. So here is an apt description of living as a Christian. Ask yourself: are you making yourself a sacrifice?

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